October 3, 2025
When it comes to life, the choices we make often tell the world who we are. Today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day dive into two very different corners of the human experience: how we face moral compromise and how we set boundaries around what’s ours. One is heavy, the other lighthearted, but both ask us to reflect on where we draw the line.
Thought of the Day: There is nothing good about the lesser of two evils. Evil is still evil.
We’ve all heard the phrase “the lesser of two evils.” It’s usually tossed out when we’re stuck with options we don’t like, politics, workplace dilemmas, even the lineup at a kid’s birthday party when the only food left is half-melted ice cream cake or a slice of pizza that’s been sweating under a heat lamp. But the truth is, evil is still evil, no matter how you dress it up.
Choosing the “lesser” doesn’t suddenly turn it into good, it just means we’ve convinced ourselves that harm with a discount price tag is acceptable. That doesn’t mean life always hands us neat, black-and-white choices. Most of the time, we live in the gray. But maybe the better path is to stop framing decisions as “which evil is less bad?” and instead ask, “Is there a third option I’m not seeing?” or “Do I really have to play this game at all?”
I think about this a lot as a parent. Do I yell when my kids dump Legos all over the floor for the third time today, or do I quietly pick them up and stew in silence? Neither feels like “good.” The real choice is to pause, breathe, and try to teach them (without becoming the villain in my own house). Harder? Absolutely. Worth it? Usually.
It reminds me of a past post where I wrote about figuring out whether the game is worth winning. Sometimes the win is just stepping away from the false choice altogether.
Question of the Day: What’s something someone should never ask to borrow?
Let’s be honest, this question can go downhill fast if you let your imagination wander. But keeping it PG, my vote is simple: underwear.
Look, I’ll lend you a shirt. I’ll even lend you my favorite hoodie, though I’ll secretly hope it comes back. But underwear? That’s the ultimate line. It’s not even about hygiene, it’s about dignity. There are just some things in life that are meant to be 100% non-transferable.
I think we all have our own list of “unborrowables.” For some, it’s their toothbrush. For others, maybe it’s their password to Netflix (that one causes more fights than money). And for some people, it’s their time, because borrowing time means you’re asking them to miss out on something else.
There’s humor in this question, but also truth. Boundaries matter. Saying “no” doesn’t make you selfish; it makes you human. If you can’t say no to the underwear request (literal or metaphorical), where else will people cross your lines?
I wrote about this once in a reflection on kindness, sometimes being kind to yourself means holding your boundary firmly. Borrowing can be beautiful, sharing tools, books, recipes, but borrowing has limits. And that’s okay.
Final Thoughts
Today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day land in very different places, but together they remind me of the same truth: life is about drawing lines. Sometimes it’s refusing to justify evil just because it’s smaller. Sometimes it’s refusing to hand over what should never be borrowed.
What do you think? Have you ever been caught in a “lesser of two evils” choice you regretted? Or has anyone ever asked to borrow something that made you laugh, cringe, or say “absolutely not”?
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